


The Scorpion's Sting

by Lunarelle



Category: Saint Seiya
Genre: 21st Century, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attraction, Bad muses, Don't blame me for my bad writing, F/M, First Time, Kissing, Love, Original Character(s), Sensuality, Sex, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, True Love, WTF, What Was I Thinking?, ridiculous situations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 21:57:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14482041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarelle/pseuds/Lunarelle
Summary: Where Scorpio Milo and his student, a Silver Saint, have an unbearable attraction towards each other, which is aggravated by the fact that the match is somehow approved by Athena.  A slow burn ensues throughout a day when the two of them are incapable of physically being away from each other, and yet refuse to go the distance.  That is until…Rated E for… well, where exactly do you think this is gonna go???





	The Scorpion's Sting

**Author's Note:**

> So. I have no idea what possessed me to start writing this. All I know is that the muses would NOT shut up until I wrote it, so I've spent the last four days on this, writing on the train, tram, bus, even in the bathroom at work. Of course, I've now started watching the series again, so I'm sure I'll be writing more for this fandom. Oh, what a rabbit hole.
> 
> I'm also pretty usre nobody's going to read this, but hey, if you do, thank you! Let me know what you think! It almost had *chapters* because it was getting so long. It was just supposed to be a short fic!

  **Disclaimer**

The characters depicted herein belong exclusively to Toei Animation and to Masami Kurumada.  I am merely passing through as a visitor to this fandom.

* * *

 

 

 

 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/153630350@N05/41746418402/in/dateposted-friend/)

She was here. He could feel her presence within the Sanctuary as clearly as if he had entered it with her.

Noctua. His silver owl, Sabine.

How she had survived his trials on the island was beyond him, but she had managed it, the first Silver Cloth of the Owl in half a century.

And a girl – woman – he admired more than he would ever admit.

He had seen the face beneath her mask three times. First, when she had arrived on the island at the age of thirteen, already beautiful with huge blue eyes and silvery hair, before she'd been given her mask.

The second time had been quite by accident, when he had caught her taking a drink of water. She had been fifteen then, and he'd been eighteen. The sight of her without her mask had been like a punch to the gut. His breath had caught in his throat, as though he'd performed his own moves on himself.

The third and final time had been during the trial, when she had faced him. Bleeding from the fourteen points he'd struck her with his Scarlet Needle, she had fallen to the ground, barely conscious. The mask had shattered off her face, exposing the naked agony there.

 _You nearly killed her_ , he remembered.

Nearly. But she'd survived.

And since then, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. About how her lips would feel against his, soft and pliant, her tongue in his mouth…

He groaned, shaking his head.

Gold Cloth of the Scorpio, and he was acting like a love-struck teenager.

Camus, not to mention Mu, had told him to stop worrying about it, and do something about his feelings for her. He was human, even if he lived in Athens' Sanctuary. Wanting to be with someone was perfectly natural.

Even if she was his student.

So he waited for her, using his senses to track her through the Sanctuary. Everyone let her go through without a problem, which he had expected, for they knew how much he wanted to be with her.

And suddenly… there she was.

* * *

Sabine didn't often go too deep inside the Sanctuary, as Silver Cloths normally stayed in the Inner Circle that surrounded it.

But every time she did, it was a striking experience, to see the Gold Saints there, especially him. Milo. Scorpio.

Ever since she had first met him, she had been powerless, loving him almost immediately.

Her love had only grown, and now burned steadily within her. It made no sense to her – they didn't really know each other – but she couldn't help the way she felt about him.

And he knew… he knew. After withstanding his Scarlet Needle, she'd been in his arms, exposed to him, and she had whispered it to him.

_I love you…_

She drew a deep breath, looking at the Zodiac Houses she was passing by. The Scorpio Temple was just ahead, looking as menacing as the first day she had ever seen it. Her heart thrummed in her chest at the thought of seeing him.

She had just returned from a mission in England, where rebels had been working in the name of a false deity, sacrificing young maidens to their cause. It had taken most of her energies to deal with them, but she had managed it in the end.

She didn't really need to make a report on this – Milo was already fully aware of what had transpired – but she wanted to be thorough.

As she approached the house, climbing the stairs that led to it, she felt him. He was near. Heat seemed to simmer in her bones, in the very points he had struck her with his needling attack. The pain, exquisite in its agony, ghosted across her body, causing her to stop in her tracks for a moment until she got her breath back.

He was waiting for her, leaning against one of the marble walls of the temple. In his gold Cloth, he was breathtakingly handsome, his hair an unusual shade of blue that was a few shades darker than his eyes. His features were angular, almost cold, betraying the fact that he could be ruthless in battle, although he had a fair streak, and knew how to recognize an opponent's worth.

"Noctua," he said as soon as she had set foot into the temple.

Sabine froze. His voice… oh, his voice. She trembled minutely.

"You can take that mask off. I know what you look like beneath it."

It was protocol for females in the Sanctuary to wear a mask to conceal their faces, but more and more, she had seen women go without them, wanting to make sure that the men could keep their focus around them, no matter what they looked like.

Hands shaking, Sabine gently worked the mask off her face, immediately feeling the cool and fragrant air of the temple against her skin. She stowed it at her waist as she began to walk towards her master, who had glanced up at her.

"Master Scorpio," she whispered, taking a knee in front of him.

"I saw that your mission in England went well."

She nodded, getting up when he motioned for her to do so, "Thanks to your advice, yes."

"But you ran into trouble?"

"Just for a little while. They were trained, which made me think that they were people who had failed to get a Cloth."

"Next time, take one of the Bronze Saints with you as backup, just in case."

"I will." She paused, noticing he wasn't wearing the crowned helmet with its long scorpion tail, "Do you think we can expect more trouble from them?"

"It's entirely possible. Many people worship false deities after they fail their trials. They crave the power given to them."

"But how do these false deities have power?"

"Through teachings, the same way we do. They're just a little more unconventional than we are. Of course, we must also consider the possibility of a traitor in our midst."

"A traitor?" Sabine was aghast. After several years spent in the service of the goddess Athena, she couldn't imagine anybody betraying her.

"There's no need to look so shocked. It happens all the time."

"Betraying Athena would mean betraying the Sanctuary… betraying  _you_ …" she shook her head. "No, I cannot imagine something like that."

"Just because you can't doesn't mean other people haven't acted on it. I am, however, very grateful that you're not considering it. The last thing I want to do is kill you."

She looked at him, "You would kill me."

Milo's voice held no emotion in it, "In a heartbeat. As you would me if I were to suddenly betray Athena, no matter how you feel about me."

She started, hissing in a breath, "I… I don't think I could kill you if my life depended on it, Master. You're far too strong for me."

"Perhaps," he said, privately enjoying the blush that crept into her cheeks. Involuntarily, he reached out for her, the crimson nail on his right hand grazing her jaw softly. A small, desperate sound escaped the back of her throat, and for a moment, he was positive she was going to launch herself into his arms. She began to shake from head to foot. "Rein it in, Sabine," he said.

"Athena's grace," she whispered, closing her eyes. "I can't…"

He stepped closer to her, their armors touching, vibrating together. "You can. Look at me." When she didn't, he pressed his nail into her jaw, just once, piercing the skin but not poisoning her. A bead of blood rose to her white skin, and her eyes flew open. She gasped.

"No…"

"Yes."

Sabine shook her head, "No," she said again, her voice catching in her throat. Leaning forward, ignoring the painful pressure Milo was exerting on her jaw, she kissed him.

Kissing him.  _She was kissing him, and he was letting her._

Her arms wound themselves around his neck, forcing him to drop the hold on her jaw. His eyes, still open, had suddenly gotten very clear. He could see the particles of dust in the air, although his ears roared with the blood that was pumping frantically through his veins. He smelled her, the fresh scent of her clean skin, the sweetness of her hair, and the spiced sugar perfume she had put on that morning. It was intoxicating, and before he'd summoned the willpower to stop himself, he felt his eyes closing, his arms going around her waist and pressing her closer to his body.

"Milo…" she whispered, pulling back for a second.

"Shh," he said to her. He pressed their lips together again, his kiss strong, warm. He felt something, his armor, moving on its own volition and winding its way around hers, gripping it. Her Cloth responded in a similar manner: the longer their kiss lasted, the more their Cloths entwined. Anybody coming across them at that moment would barely have been able to figure out where one ended and the other began.

A moment later, they tried pulling apart, but found that they couldn't, not completely.

"What the…" Milo was hardly able to glance down. "That's interesting."

"I didn't know Cloths could do that," whispered Sabine.

Milo chuckled, "I heard about something similar, once, between two bronze Cloths. They were like magnets, attracted to each other and unable to be wrenched apart."

"Which two?"

"Pegasus and Unicorn."

"I suppose it makes sense for those two."

Milo hummed affirmatively, "Except that the wearers were both male, and had no interest in each other. Not then, at least. But that changed."

Sabine looked at her master, "Does that mean we should keep –."

"No, we need to find a way to disentangle our armors without falling over. I'm going to pick you up and bring you to my room, all right?"

She nodded, "Yes…"

He sighed, reading her need as easily as she did his. He picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, their Cloths accommodating their movements easily. Carefully, he walked through the temple, through a couple of doors and down a short corridor until he reached his bedroom, a large area with a four-poster bed.

"It's gorgeous," she breathed.

"It's a bit opulent, yes."

"You deserve it…"

He chuckled, "You would think that, wouldn't you?" He walked to the bed, meaning to deposit her there, but when he let her go, nothing happened. She remained exactly where she was, as though welded to him. "Oh, this is ridiculous…"

"Are we going to need help, you think?"

"I hope not. I'd never be able to live it down." He could only imagine the fit of laughter Camus would have if he saw him that way with Sabine. It would never do. He reached down to the first point of contact his Cloth had with hers, and pressed down on it firmly. It detached, but, in his mind, he heard both of the Cloths emitting a strange sound, almost a wail. "We're going to have to do this manually."

She nodded, "I guess… we'll have to be quick about it." The point he had just released was already beginning to tangle again.

Milo cursed softly, "As fast as you can, then. Ignore the screams."

It wasn't easy. Every time one of them disentwined a bit of their armor, there was a scream. Another. A third one. On and on it went for over ten minutes, until they were able to fully separate. When they did, the screams inside both their heads went on for a while, a discordant note that hurt their very souls.

Sabine's eyes were wet with tears, "Oh… Milo."

"I know," he said. "I feel it too." He walked away from her, a feat made more difficult by the fact that his armor seemed to be resisting him. He went to the closet that had been built into the wall, and pulled out two dressing gowns made of pale golden silk. "Put this on," he said, handing one of them to her. He began to take his armor off, and Sabine's eyes widened.

"What are you –."

"We'll take our Cloths to Mu. He'll be able to let us know whether there's something we can do about them tangling like that. Or rather, we'll have him come here. You're not leaving until that's fixed."

"I get to stay with you?" she asked.

"I don't think we have a choice." He finished taking off his gold Cloth, placing it carefully on the table near the window and putting on the dressing gown over the leggings he was wearing. His gaze cut once to Sabine, and he saw that beneath her armor she had worn nothing but skintight leggings of her own, colored white, and white lacy undergarments. "Talk about exerting control…" he whispered.

Sabine stood, pulling the gold robe over herself and bringing her own armor over to the table. It had taken the shape of an owl, just like his had taken the shape of a scorpion. As soon as she set it down, the Cloths seemed to converge, the owl unfolding one of its wings to welcome the scorpion into its fold, while the scorpion's tail wrapped itself sensually around the bird.

"Well…" said Milo. "I think we have our answer."

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know yet, Sabine."

She touched his hand, and a muscle appeared to twitch in his wrist. In front of them, their Cloths almost seemed to meld together. Neither of them knew whether this meant that they were reflecting the Cloths, or whether the Cloths were reflecting them.

With a sigh, he put an arm around her, pulling her close to him. Gods, but he felt complete when he was with her like this, as though a piece of his soul had been restored to him.

"We should get something for lunch," he said absently. He didn't really want to eat, but his body was trying to remind him that he hadn't had any breakfast.

"What have you got in mind?"

"There's a kitchen in the basement. We'll see what we have there."

Keeping his arm around Sabine, he led her out of his room and through another corridor that wound down to the lower level of the temple.

Made of the same marble as the rest of House Scorpio, the kitchen was very long, but barely eight feet high. An ornate marble island stood in the center of the kitchen, surrounded by a round cushioned bench. On that island was a large bowl of ripe fruit: cherries, figs and slices of cold watermelon.

"Those look delicious," whispered Sabine. She was trembling again.

Milo looked at her, crushing the near-overpowering urge to wrestle her to the ground and have his way with her. "Have you ever…" he began, "have you ever been with anyone?"

"Intimately, you mean?" she asked, her cheeks turning crimson.

He nodded.

"No." She swallowed, "You?"

Another nod, "Once or twice, to take the edge off."

"Is that what this is going to be? Taking the edge off?"

"I think we've established the fact that whatever's going on between us is something else, even if it's just started to happen. Or, at least, our Cloths have established it."

"Did you feel anything for the Owl Cloth before I claimed it?"

Milo thought back to the trials. He had been on Milos Island for three years, almost consecutively, but he couldn't remember his armor reacting to the Noctua armor. But he remembered feeling a pull towards Sabine when he had seen her face the second time. And again when they had battled. "No," he said. "Not for the Cloth."

"For me?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

"For you," he acknowledged. "Sit down, you look like you're going to faint."

She did so, their bodies breaking apart. She gasped at the lack of contact. So did he.

Oh, he really didn't like this. Not touching her was doing unfathomably bad things to his inner Cosmos. He felt unfocused suddenly. Dizzy. He staggered.

Sabine quickly got to her feet, also swaying a little, and took his hand. The moment their skin touched, balance seemed to return to the two of them.

" _By Hades_ ," cursed Milo. Nothing he had ever been through had prepared him for this.

"Milo…" Sabine sounded scared now, and he automatically took her into his arms.

"It's going to be okay," he said. "Let's eat something and go back upstairs. We'll… we'll see what to do."

"We're going to have to make love, aren't we?"

Milo closed his eyes against the onslaught of emotion that statement provoked within him. "I would rather we made love because we wanted to, not because we're incapable of being apart without it."

But even as he said that, his body screamed for her.

They weren't going to make it back upstairs at this rate.

* * *

Milo only managed to remain calm through sheer willpower. The situation was beyond his comprehension, and he wanted nothing more than to ask the other Gold Saints about this. Surely they would have an idea as to what to do about it all.

He sat down at one of the tables in the kitchen, pulling Sabine to sit on his lap so that they could eat together. Not a word did they say as they had a simple meal comprised of figs and cold meat. However, on occasion, Milo found himself nuzzling Sabine's neck, unable to stop it from happening. She responded to him by pressing herself closer to him and turning her face so that she could kiss him softly.

Once they were done, they washed their dishes together before making their way back to Milo's room, where they found that their armors were so entwined with each other that pulling them apart would prove nigh impossible.

"You do realize that I have no clothes with me other than my silver Cloth?" said Sabine quietly. "I will not venture throughout the Sanctuary like this."

A chuckle, "You can borrow some of my old clothes. They should fit you well enough. And you have leggings on, it'll be enough to cover you. Just let me call Mu. I pray to Athena's he's home."

He went to let go of Sabine's hand, but both their armors made such a sound of agony that they jumped closer together.

"All right," said Milo. " _All right_." Tearing the robe off himself, he got on the bed, and Sabine went with him, half-lying on top of him while he kept a secure arm around her, his free hand picking up the phone and dialing the number for the Aries Temple.

Someone picked up on the third ring. A childlike voice answered, Kiki, Mu's apprentice. "Hello?"

"Hi, Kiki, it's Milo."

"Master Scorpio! How can I help you?"

"Please tell me your master's home. Noctua and I are having problems with our Cloths."

"What kind of problem?"

"Do you remember the way Pegasus and Unicorn were linked?"

"Sure. Mu was just talking to me about that a few weeks ago."

"Right. Something like that. But worse."

Kiki sounded way too cheerful when he passed the phone to Mu.

"What's going on?" asked the Gold Saint of Aries.

Milo explained the situation as best he could. "Could you come over?"

"Sure. But have you tried sex yet?"

"No!" he cried, startling Sabine.

"You should. As far as I remember, it was the only thing that helped Pegasus and Unicorn two hundred years ago."

"Okay, what you need to realize is that Sabine is barely eighteen years old."

"And the two Bronze Saints were fifteen. They had no choice but to mate at least once a week in order to be able to function. It wasn't even that they wanted to, you understand. They  _had_  to. It was Athena's will."

"Athena's will is that Sabine and I… mate?" He glanced down at her, seeing that her cheeks were scarlet again. She trembled in his arms, tracing shaking patterns on his chest with her hand. He squeezed her tighter against him.

"I'll come over and examine your Cloths, but I think there's no other way. How do you feel when you're apart?"

"Like we're off-center. Dizzy and clammy, but that just happened today. We were okay before. And our Cloths make the most awful sound when we try to break apart."

"I'll be right there. Give me fifteen minutes."

"Great, thanks." He hung up the phone, "He's on his way."

"I can't meet a Gold Saint in this state!"

"Oh? By all means, try prying our Cloths apart. Go on."

"You know I can't let you go, Milo."

"I know." He stood, dragging Sabine with him. Together, they went to the closet, where Milo took a long silver tunic from a high shelf. "I got this when I was fourteen, and it already didn't fit me then. It should suit you."

"You're going to have to let me go for me to put it on."

"Yeah, but I don't have to stop touching you." He pulled her to him for a gentle kiss before moving backwards until he was sitting on the bed again, Sabine standing between his legs.

He helped her take off her dressing gown, shamelessly allowing his eyes to roam across her flat belly. He licked his lips, wanting to kiss her again.

For a second or two, Sabine watched him, her skin erupting into gooseflesh where she felt his touch. She suddenly didn't feel like putting clothes on anymore. "By the gods…" she whispered.

Milo smiled a little, "Get dressed."

She did, slipping the tunic over her head. It fit her surprisingly well, considering that it had been cut for a male body, and went down to just below her hips, hugging her chest enough to hint at her figure.

"Well," he said. "You should keep that. It looks good on you." He skimmed his fingers against her sides, making her squirm.

She gave a nod, "Are you… going to finish getting dressed too?"

"Mu has seen me in various stages of undress. This won't bother him."

"He's seen you naked?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"No. But he's seen me sick and unwell. Come to think of it, he might have seen me naked once or twice." He smiled, "Does that make you jealous?"

Sabine glanced toward the table, "Your Cloth is entangled with mine, not with anybody else's."

Milo got to his feet, "Come on." He dropped his arms from her, taking her hand and walking with her back through the temple to wait for Mu.

It didn't take him long to arrive. He found them leaning against each other, eyes closed, seemingly trying to breathe each other in.

"Maybe I should come back when the two of you aren't trying to meld your bodies through osmosis", he said, trying to stifle a laugh and failing.

"Master Aries…" Sabine turned to face him, accidentally breaking her physical contact with Milo.

The effect was instantaneous. Her world went black as she fainted, collapsing to the floor. Milo, for his part, only barely kept a grip on his consciousness, brought to his knees by the loss. From his room came a metallic sort of wail.

Mu crossed the room immediately, the laughter dying in his throat. "By Athena…" he whispered. "You know, I always thought this kind of thing was a myth."

"App… apparently not." Milo was breathing hard, as though he'd been on the losing side of a battle. He reached out, putting a hand over Sabine's.

His breathing eased. She opened her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked, sounding weak. Her face was deathly pale, her blue eyes cloudy.

"You moved away from me," said Milo

"And what?"

"You fainted," said Mu gently. "By the way you're looking, I'm wondering whether you didn't almost die."

"Die?" she asked. "Are you telling me that Milo and I can't live unless we're touching?"

"I don't think that's a permanent condition, but I'll need to research it."

"But how could that happen? We were fine just earlier today… before we kissed."

"You kissed? Just like that?"

Milo shook his head, pulling Sabine closer to himself. He still felt too weak to get up, although his strength was slowly returning to him. "No. She came here to report back on her mission in England, then… I touched her face. I felt our Cloths vibrating when we got so close to each other and…"

"I kissed him," finished Sabine. "I couldn't help it."

"That's when our armors began to fuse together." He explained what else had happened, inviting Mu to go to his room and see it for himself.

Mu nodded, "I'll be right back."

They waited a while, reconnecting, stroking whatever parts of each other they could reach.

"It feels like we've been apart for a year," mumbled Sabine as she pressed her forehead to Milo's chest. "Why are we feeling this way?"

Milo had no answers for her, simply leaning down and catching her lips with his in a slow kiss. He started to feel better the second he did that, more so when she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, sliding her tongue alongside his.

Mu came back, clearing his throat loudly.

Sabine gently broke the kiss, turning her head to look at him, "Do you have any news, Master Aries?"

"Some. For one thing, I couldn't even begin to guess at how to disentwine your Cloths, which means that you two are the only ones who can do it."

"What are you saying, Mu?" asked Milo, keeping an arm around Sabine as he struggled to his feet.

Mu shrugged, "As you know, our Cloths are alive."

"Right, they're infused with the Cosmos, same as us," said Milo. "What of it?"

"Well, sometimes, they have a mind of their own. In your case, they both took cues from the two of you, and decided to… join forces, if you will. But there's something else."

"Something else?" repeated Sabine.

"It  _is_  the will of Athena. The Cloths would have never behaved like that, nor would you two feel such extreme effects from it, had Athena not willed it to be so."

Milo ruminated on that for a moment before shaking his head, "That doesn't make any sense. How, and  _why_  would Athena want this?"

"I cannot comment on the will of Athena, except that there must be a very good reason for her having done this."

"What was her reasoning when Pegasus and Unicorn suffered the same effects?"

"Maybe she was testing the bonds, I don't know."

"But you can confirm there's nothing wrong with our armors. Assuming we do whatever we need to do to untangle them, there won't be any ill effects?"

"There shouldn't be. But again, the first time this happened, there wasn't much documentation on it, so I'm not exactly sure what went on between those two Bronze Saints. I do know that they became sporadic lovers, finding each other across the world, no matter where they were, in order to be together, even if it was just once a week, or once every couple of months."

Sabine closed her eyes. She wanted to be depressed and angry about the fact that Athena, the goddess she had sworn to protect with her very life, was toying with her feelings. Something must have shown in her eyes, because Milo squeezed her waist.

"It's not anyone's fault," he said. "Besides, you already liked me before you became a Saint, remember?"

"Yes, I remember," she said, her voice quiet.

"And I liked you. So it's okay."

She looked up at him, "Is it? Is it okay that we feel so strongly for each other when we barely know one another?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say the two of you don't know each other," said Mu. "I mean, how long did you train together on Milos Island? Several years, right?"

"We know each other as student and teacher, yeah…" she said.

"That's all it takes. And the fact that you liked him even before you became a Saint says a lot."

Sabine shook her head, unconvinced by Mu's explanation, but not knowing what else to say about it.

"I think we can take it from here, my friend," said Milo. "Thanks for stopping by."

Mu nodded, "Sorry I couldn't do more for you. Call me and let me know if you still have problems afterwards. I'll come back and help."

Afterwards. As they watched Mu leave, both Milo and Sabine wondered what would happen between them.

"The choice isn't ours, is it?" she asked him. "We're going to have to…"

"You always have a choice. And if there is one thing I do know about Athena, it's that she would never force you to do anything you don't want to do. Not this, anyway. She didn't force you to become a Saint, you decided to serve her, while others who were on the island with you gave up before they could face me."

"They knew that your Scarlet Needle was the most painful thing they would ever feel…"

Milo inclined his head, "But they chose not to conclude the trial. You chose to go on. Just like you chose to kiss me earlier."

"I never meant to do that," she said quickly.

"Perhaps not, but you did it anyway. Now the choice before us is simple."

"Have sex or die? That's a hell of a choice, Milo."

"There's a third choice there."

"Where?"

He shrugged, "If all you and I have to do is stay connected, we could use our blood. It may not work, but it may give us some time. We would basically take an object – a pendant or a ring, and infuse it with each other's blood. That way, we'd be able to stay connected without actually needing to be in the room together."

"Blood magic? It's a long shot. And it's dangerous. What happens when the blood washes off when we're in combat? Hell, what if it doesn't work at all?"

"I leave the choice up to you. I won't force you to make love. But know that until we've figured this out, we're going to have to keep constant physical contact. That would include when we need to go to the bathroom."

Sabine stared at him, "There's no way that… Milo! That's degrading!"

"I guess there's no better way of getting to know one another."

"Milo, read my lips: it's never going to happen."

Milo laughed, "Let's go work on those rings then, see what that does."

* * *

The ritual Milo performed for the rings wasn't all that complicated. All that had to be done was soak the rings in their own blood and wait for them to dry. Even washing the rings wasn't guaranteed to get all the blood out of each crevice, but to be sure, they also did the same thing with neck jewelry, dipping leather cords into their blood.

Because of everything that had happened so far, Sabine was positive that it wouldn't work. That they would both be helpless after letting each other go.

She certainly didn't  _want_  to let Milo go, and she could tell by the look on his face that he didn't want to let go of her either.

"Should we try?" asked Milo, apprehensive.

Sabine swallowed, "I don't want to," she said truthfully, looking up at him.

"It'll just be for a moment, to see whether we can. I'll catch you if you fall, promise."

She nodded and, with infinite slowness released the hold she had on Milo's waist while he let her go as well.

Whatever kind of magic was at play, the rings and leather chokers around their necks seemed to be working, but only barely. Sabine let out a choked sob, in time with her Cloth, which looked like it was seizing.

She felt sick, as though she'd gotten a nasty bout of flu.

"Oh, this isn't going to work… Milo."

"It'll work enough to allow us to do whatever we need to do in private," he said, sounding quite unlike himself. "Like go to the bathroom. So if you need to go, go now."

She did, but the thought of getting out of his sight was unbearable.

"Come on." He took her hand again, which provided instant relief, and walked with her to a room across the hall.

Made of the same red and white marble as the rest of the temple, the bathroom was equipped with modern plumbing, and had a huge shower, enormous square bathtub, and two sinks. Mirrors were everywhere, making the bathroom look bigger than it actually was.

"I'll be just outside the door," he said.

"Kiss me, please, before you let me go…"

He did, crushing her to him. "By the gods, hurry up." He released her.

Another wave of sickness came over them both, intensified when he closed the door behind him, leaving Sabine alone.

He heard her crying, and he himself felt his chin begin to tremble. His head swam, and a lump rose in his throat. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, but was really only a minute, she called him back.

He immediately wrapped his arms around her, leading her to the sink and taking off her ring so that she could wash her hands.

"Do you need to…"

"I'll be damned if I let you go again," he said quickly. "I don't care what you see me do." Turning her to face him, he kissed her, pushing her back against the sink and pressing a knee between her legs. The position seemed natural, and she accommodated him, kissing him back with fervor and making little sounds that were bound to drive him absolutely crazy.

He pulled his lips away from hers for a moment "Look, I know you don't really care for being in the room with me while I urinate, but…"

Sabine blinked, "You want me to leave the room?"

" _No_. I just said I wasn't letting you go again. Just… come stand behind me."

Feeling ridiculous, she went with him and stood behind him, pressing her forehead into his shoulder while he used the toilet. She kept her eyes closed with difficulty, not wanting to be tempted, but her body was fairly singing his melody.

When he was done, he kissed her again and again before he even made it to the sink to wash his hands.

"So…" she whispered to him. "What would you like to do now?"

Milo's eyes spoke volumes on the subject, but he didn't voice his thoughts. "Since we can't really train, and I shouldn't leave the temple today, I guess we'll have to make do with things around here." He stroked the back of her neck. "Do you remember the Gladiator Matches?"

"Of course. Some of the Saints love to participate in them for fun."

He nodded, "There are some still going on, if you'd like to watch them."

"I'd love to."

"Good."

They went to the living room, which was at the very end of the corridor. A large square room, it had a U-shaped couch made of what appeared to be the softest possible leather. In front of it, mounted on the wall, was a wide-screen television, which Milo turned on before pulling Sabine down to sit against him.

"I have drinks in the small fridge over here, and cookies on the table, in case you want any," he told her gently, kissing her temple.

She shook her head, her gaze briefly landing on the match currently happening onscreen before she looked back at Milo. Their eyes locked. Heat simmered between them.

Their kiss was controlled at first, Milo trying to keep it simple. But before long, everything intensified. Her hands were on his chest, fingers only just skimming his nipples. Their tongues fought for dominance, first in his mouth, then in hers.

Suddenly, he pulled her on top of him and she gasped, feeling his obvious erection. She started to move away, but he wrapped his arms around her tightly, refusing to let her go.

"Milo…" she whispered between mouthfuls. "Stop… please…"

"I can't," he growled, kissing her again. "Gods forgive me, Sabine, I can't."

Sabine struggled against him, but he was so strong it was impossible. "Milo, I beg you…"

He ended the kiss, stroking her face with his thumb, "I'm sorry."

She licked her lips. "Thank you for stopping." She took a deep breath, "I know that we're going to end up making love. It's just that I… I don't want it that way, you know what I mean?"

"I do know. You want something a bit more meaningful than Athena's blessing upon us."

A blink, "There's hardly anything more meaningful than Athena's blessing…"

Milo chuckled, "True. I mean, as far as we're concerned, you want us to have a real relationship before we take it to that level. Especially since this would be your first time." He brushed a lock of hair from her forehead, "You must be terrified."

"I wouldn't say that, exactly. I'm just really, really nervous."

He kissed her forehead gently, "What's the most you've ever done with anyone?"

"This is pretty much it."

He smiled at that, "Really?"

A nod, "This was just before I was chosen for all this. I was at the orphanage, and there was this boy I liked. We kissed a couple of times, and we held hands, that was all."

"And how long did that last?"

"I was twelve, so… a week? I don't remember, a lot's happened since then."

"Okay. Do you have any questions?"

Sabine's cheeks turned as red as summer apples. "Will you be gentle with me?"

He ran a finger down her cheek, "I'll try."

Avoiding his gaze, she chewed on her lower lip, "Did you feel different afterwards?"

Milo took a moment to formulate his answer. "I think that part may be a little different for men than women. I couldn't believe it had just happened, and I really wanted to shout it out to the world. Physically, I felt more aware of my surroundings, like my senses were heightened, if you can imagine that."

"I can," she whispered. Her senses had been hyperaware ever since she'd first kissed him. "Do… do you think…" her voice trailed off.

"Do I think what?" he asked gently, tipping her chin up so that she would look at him.

"Do you think we'll still feel the same after we…"

"I don't know." He kissed her lips gently, "I don't know. You fell for me the first time you saw me, and I noticed you even before you got your Cloth. I'm not sure whether us making love is going to change any of that. I hope not."

"But if we can function without touching each other…"

"It won't mean that we won't still be in love."

Her eyes focused on his, "You're in love with me?"

Milo took a deep breath, "I care about you a lot. Right now, I physically need to be with you. I think that whatever's going on right now is making me feel like I'm in love with you, but I don't really know. I've never actually been in love with anybody before."

"At least you're being honest with me…"

"I  _want_  to be honest with you, Sabine. I'm your master, your teacher. On many levels, everything about today is wrong, except for the fact that we have strong feelings for each other, and we can't help it. If this really is a match blessed by Athena herself, then there's not much for us to question. All we can do is act."

She nodded once. Not knowing what else to say, she curled up against Milo's side, placing her head on his chest and turning her attention to the match currently happening onscreen.

For some time, neither of them said anything, content to just be in each other's arms. They relaxed for a while, actually managing to doze off, only to be awoken by a loud ring coming from the television, signifying the end of that day's matches.

"We missed the sunset," commented Milo as he looked at the clock on the wall. "Do you want to eat anything?"

"I'm not really hungry," she said quietly.

He wasn't either. Not for food, anyway. Now that he and Sabine were awake again, his lust for her had returned, stronger than ever. "Bed?" he asked.

Sabine's voice was nearly inaudible. "Yes."

"You don't have to be afraid, sweetheart."

Didn't she? No matter how much she tried to deny it, she was perfectly aware of what was going to happen between them the second they would get into bed.

It was inevitable.

* * *

Quietly, holding hands, they went back to Milo's room, finding that their Cloths were as tangled as ever.

"Do you think maybe it's my Cosmos trying to unite with yours?" asked Sabine.

Milo's voice was discreet, "That may very well be what's happening here, which would explain things." He glanced at her, "Do you need to shower?"

She shook her head. Her stomach was in knots, and something must have shown on her face, because Milo put both his hands on her shoulders, "It's going to be okay. I won't force myself inside you."

Shocked, she gasped, "I know that."

"Good. We can just hold hands and sleep on separate sides of the bed if that's what you want."

"Whatever you want to do."

"No, the choice is yours. I'd welcome you sleeping in my arms, but if you don't feel comfortable with it, then it's fine."

"I like being in your arms."

That statement was so sweet that Milo couldn't help kissing her. For a minute, the only sound in the room was the one of their lips meeting slowly, sensually. Sabine's heart pounded as she inadvertently moved closer to him, pressing their bodies together.

Milo angled his lower body away from her, breaking the kiss, "You're going to be the death of me…" he mumbled.

"Don't say that… I don't think I'd survive if anything ever happened to you."

"I'm not planning on dying anytime soon," he told her, not adding that Saints didn't often survive very long because of the constant attacks against Athena and her followers. "So. I don't suppose you're going to sleep in your leggings and tunic."

She sighed, shaking her head. A moment later, she had pulled the tunic over her head, causing Milo's eyes to widen slightly. Bracing herself on him, she tugged her leggings down, exposing the fact that she was wearing white lace underneath.

"By the grace of the gods," he hissed. "I was expecting you to fight me."

"So was I," she admitted, blushing again.

 _Stop resisting_ , whispered a voice inside her head.

He ran a finger down her side, making her shiver, "And you expect me to behave when you're standing like that in front of me?"

Choosing not to answer that, she walked with him to the bed, "Do  _you_  normally sleep with your leggings on?"

"Of course not. I just don't want to scare you."

"Oh…" she said quietly.

He got into bed, pulling her beside him and grabbing the remote on the bedside table to turn off the lights.

They were plunged into near-complete darkness, and, almost in unison, the two of them removed the rest of their clothing, underwear and all.

* * *

Neither of them remembered falling asleep.

Milo awoke an hour later, finding that he had draped himself over Sabine's body, both of them trembling minutely.

The room was pitch black, but it didn't stop him noticing that he was in a perfect position to penetrate her. Her legs were even wrapped around his waist.

"Milo…" she whispered, still half-asleep.

"Sabine."

"You're so… you're so aroused."

He felt wetness trickling from between her legs. "Sabine, I can't anymore, I'm sorry." He kissed her before he could summon the willpower to stop himself. She kissed him back, legs spreading just a little wider, enough for him to nudge himself inside her.

Sabine cried out into the kiss as new splintering pain rolled over her from the point of contact between their bodies.

 _He was inside her_.

Milo groaned. "Oh yes, finally… finally." He began to thrust gently, trying not to lose complete control as the tight wetness of her vagina gripped him, pulling him deeper inside her body. Muscles jumped in various parts of his body. He began to shake.

He leaned over, finding Sabine's face with his lips, kissing her tears away. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart, I can't help it."

"I know," she said, giving a gasping sob. "Oh, Milo… ah…" It hurt. It burned deep within her, but through the pain, she wanted him more. Wanted more of this, of  _everything_.

Why had they resisted?  _How_  had they been able to resist each other?

He kissed her again, his tongue gentler than his thrusts, which were getting stronger by the second, refusing to steady. He was hurting her, and he knew it, but she didn't push him away. No, she clung to him, her fingernails raking down his back, her kiss desperate, her body shaking beneath his. Her cries bounced off the walls of his room, and he could swear that he heard their Cloths making some kind of noise, but he was too absorbed in losing himself inside the ecstasy of Sabine's body to worry about it.

She cried out his name, arching her back as he put both his arms around her, pulling at her until she straddled him.

"Oh, wait… please, Milo…" she whispered. "Please…"

He stilled the movement of his hips, running his hands over her skin, "Are you all right?" he asked her. He could barely see her outline in the dark. "Do you want to stop?"

"Just… just for a second. Please."

He sat up, still within her, kissing her deeply. "Too much?" he asked.

She nodded against him, breathing heavily. "I love you. Oh, Milo…"

They began to move together, gasping at the intimacy of their contact. Milo's trusts were stronger now, and Sabine screamed, shutting her eyes tightly. He held her hips in place, finding a steady rhythm, moving in and out of her, the slide easier now.

He pushed her down on the bed again, pinning her body with his.

Abandon was theirs as they kept their bodies joined most of the night, their cries echoing through the Temple of the Scorpion. They couldn't stop. They  _wouldn't_  stop. Milo climaxed inside her time and again, and by the end of the night, she came as well, sobbing her release into his neck.

Exhausted, they collapsed, trembling against each other. He stroked her body slowly, lazily, just as the sun began to rise, allowing little shafts of light to penetrate the room.

Milo saw the sheets, noticing the streaks of blood there.

"Did I hurt you?"

Sabine followed Milo's gaze, "A little."

"More than a little, I would guess."

"I'm all right."

"I should have been more gentle with you. I'm sorry."

They had made love. She had made love to Milo. After all the time she had spent wanting to be with him.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

How did she feel? She had no words to express it. "I don't know, Milo…"

"Good? Bad?"

She shook her head, "I don't know."

Milo propped himself up on an elbow, looking down at her. She was pale and tired, but her eyes were shining. She shivered when he put a hand on her belly. "Tell me."

"I'm in love with you."

He smiled, "You already were in love with me."

"That hasn't changed. I love you still."

"I certainly hope so, after everything we just went through." He kissed her softly, "Are you ready to try letting me go?"

"Letting you go?"

"Break physical contact with each other."

"No…"

He chuckled and pointed to their Cloths. They were separate again, a golden scorpion and a silver owl, although the scorpion's tail was curled gently around the owl. "I think we should be able break apart for a short time."

"I don't want to," she whispered, shaking her head.

Milo kissed her again before very gently moving away from her.

* * *

They hadn't touched in five minutes.

Sabine was in the shower, shivering under the spray of hot water, tears running down her face. She was trying hard not to let Milo hear her sobs, but couldn't help it.

The door to the bathroom opened quietly, and Milo walked in. He didn't stop until he was in the shower with Sabine, holding on to her tightly.

"I thought you said you didn't know how you felt," he said.

She could only cry.

He kept quiet for a bit, washing her hair until she relaxed under his touch. "You know, I feel a little overwhelmed too," he told her after a couple of minutes. "I'm not used to feeling this strongly for someone. I mean, I'm a Gold Saint – I'm supposed to have mastered my emotions." He rinsed her hair and turned her around to look at him, "Both of us are supposed to have mastered our emotions."

Sabine's chin trembled, "I thought I had until yesterday."

A nod, "I know. Yesterday was intense. Last night was… Well, I don't really know how to describe last night."

She looked up at him, "Was it… was it okay?"

"It was," said Milo simply. It had been more than okay. It had been mind-blowingly unbelievable, in point of fact. An experience he wanted to revel in over and over again. "I kept expecting you to push me away."

"I couldn't have done that, Milo. I just couldn't have."

"I've come to realize that. And I'm glad you didn't." He ran his fingers over her cheeks, memorizing their angle and the way they looked in the bathroom's light as opposed to the direct light of the sun.

He cleared his throat suddenly, and she looked away from him, shy.

"There's something I wanted to try last night that we didn't get to do."

"What's that?" she wondered, squeezing some mint-scented body wash into her hand and beginning to slowly wash Milo's chest.

"I wanted to taste you. Not only your lips, but… all of you."

"Milo, I don't think I can have sex again just now. I'm a little…" her cheeks turned red as she spoke the next word, "sore."

Sore. Milo had to chuckle. "Don't worry. I don't think I have the energy for more sex right now. I might, after we get some sleep."

"And we won't get sleep until tonight."

"We won't," he agreed. He had a feeling they wouldn't sleep in the same bed that night, or even the night afterwards – the world had been falling so much into chaos lately that knights and their disciples were being sent to all corners of the globe to deal with various conflicts, and he had a feeling that Sabine was going to get called away again soon.

But there was still the promise of later.

**The End**


End file.
